Ninja Combi Multicooker review – after a year in my kitchen, this non-toxic air fryer has pretty much replaced my oven

In my time as one of Homes & Garden's kitchen experts, I've seen it all. I've tested the steamers, slow cookers, air fryers, toaster ovens, and countertop ovens. The Ninja Combi Multicooker claims to condense all these functions (and more) into one, simple appliance. It makes big promises, but does it deliver on them?

I put the Ninja Combi oven on my countertop to run it through a series of tests across the range of functions on offer. The test was only supposed to last for a day, but I kept it there and I kept it there and I kept it there until two weeks had passed. It quickly became my sous chef. Or, I should say, I became its sous chef. Now, I've had it for over a year and it has pretty much replaced my oven.

For starters, the Ninja Combi is easily one of the best toaster ovens I've ever tested. It can also cook chips like the best air fryers, roast a whole chicken, steam vegetables, and proof bread. It even uses ceramic-coated baskets and trays, making it one of the best non-toxic air fryers, too. It does everything and it does it well.

Specifications

Unboxing

Before we get into the unboxing process for the Combi, let me set some expectations. Countertop ovens are never small and the Combi isn't either. It's relatively compact in the context of countertop ovens, but it dwarfed my, somewhat chunky espresso machine when I lifted it onto the countertop. It's worth every inch of space, but that's one of the most striking things about unboxing the Combi: its size.

Thankfully, the Combi is easy to shift around and, in true Ninja style, the design is sleek and attractive. Getting everything set up was easy. The packaging was all recyclable (big tick), there wasn't any unnecessary cardboard (another big tick), and all I had to do was plug it in to set the Combi running.

Who would it suit?

If you live in a city apartment without an oven, this is the appliance for you. Given how versatile and capable the Ninja Combi is, it can meet a wide range of cooking needs. I’ve even been able to cook an entire roast dinner for five people in it!

The variety of functions makes it an excellent choice for anyone debating which kitchen appliance to invest in – whether that's an air fryer, steamer, proofer, or rapid cooker. If you enjoy experimenting with different cooking methods or simply want to streamline meal prep, the Combi is a great all-in-one solution.

It’s also well-suited for health-conscious cooks. Ninja explains that the pans and crisper tray are made from durable aluminum with a non-stick nano-ceramic coating that is FDA-approved and food-safe. The bake tray has an enamel coating, which is PTFE- and PFOA-free. I also appreciate the glass windows, which allow you to monitor your food as it cooks, reducing the risk of burning and potential exposure to toxins (you can read more about this in my feature: 'Are air fryers toxic?')

If you're short on time or want to reduce energy bills, the Ninja Combi can help with this too. It takes less than a minute to get to the temperature. I think this is why I keep returning to the Combi, opting to use it instead of my main oven because it was quicker to get ready, speedy when cooking, and then easy to clean. It works wonders for my utilities too, since I am only heating one small space.

One review that stood out to me was from a gentleman whose wife had just given birth. He wasn’t a confident cook, so he bought a Ninja Combi to help him. The presets made it easy to prepare healthy, complete meals for his growing family – something that speaks to how user-friendly this appliance is.

The only people who will need to pause for thought are those who are short on space. The Ninja Combi is pretty bulky, so you'll need to clear some room on the countertop if you want to use this.

What is it like to use?

The beauty of the Combi is in its simplicity. You plug it in and there's a switch at the top. One will offer you a menu of Combi cooker functions (combi meals, combi crisp, combi bake, steam, proof, and rice/pasta)The other air fry/stovetop selection will give you the ability to air fry, bake, broil, toast, sear, slow cook, sous vide, and make pizza. It sounds like a lot (it is), but it means that the Combi can cover a range of needs.

There are also manual settings, where you can set different timers, temperatures, and more. Being able to toggle between the combi cooker and air fryer menu means that you can let your oven do the hard work, or you can choose to tinker with the settings for yourself.

Test 1: steaming

Before the Ninja Combi, I wasn't somebody who steamed fruit and vegetables regularly. These days, I use it a lot. It won't sound like the Combi is much different from placing a steamer on top of a pan on the stove, but it is. The timer and settings mean that you can set the Combi running and it will steam until the pre-set timer is finished. There's no risk of oversteaming or your pan boiling over because the Combi controls it all.

The very first thing I steamed was an apple. I filled the Combi's tray with some water and then sat the air fryer basket on top of the water. I scattered the apple pieces across the basket and switched the mode to steam. The Combi auto-sets a timer for ten minutes, but I moved mine down to five minutes.

I needed my apple to be on the far side of steamed because it was going to become a puree in one of the doughs that I was making for the proofing test. As you can see in the picture, this was a great success. In under five minutes, my apple was steamed enough that I could puree it with a spoon.

Test 2: prooving

If you're a keen baker, you'll know what a Godsend a speedy place to prove your bread can be. I made an enriched fruit dough, which, without a proover takes two hours to double in size. Mine needed only half an hour before the buns had nicely puffed up and doubled in size.

Here's where the Ninja Combi's convenience came into play. I used the baking setting to bake my fruit buns, which took only eighteen minutes at 390 degrees. That's speedy. minutes. They were nicely browned on top and light and fluffy inside, perfectly prooved and baked.

Test 3: air frying

Air fryers have been the talk of the appliance industry for the last couple of years. More recently, I've seen them integrated into other kitchen appliances, including pressure cookers and countertop ovens, so I wasn't surprised that the Combi has an air fryer function.

The Combi has a useful air fryer basket, which I tested on fries and fish sticks. These are both cooked from frozen, so they're a great test for the heating power of the air fryer.

After fourteen minutes on the pre-set, my fries were nicely crisped up. They all looked evenly golden, with a good crunch on the outside and a fluffy texture on the inside. I was surprised that the Combi had achieved these results in just fifteen minutes (including pre-heating) because that's quicker than some of the best air fryers on the market.

The fish sticks were the same story: the breaded crumb exterior was nicely crisp and the insides were steaming and warm. As far as air fryers go, this is seriously impressive.

Test 4: roasting

I wanted to test the capacity of the Combi for you, and a great way to do that is with a roast chicken. I bought a chicken big enough for my family of five and prepared the trimmings for a roast dinner.

The chicken fitted easily onto the Combi tray. I basted it in a mix of herbs and olive oil and sat it on the tray with some vegetables around and underneath it. After just 45 minutes, the chicken was done and ready to eat. The skin was nice and crispy on the outside, but still succulent and tender inside. Hungry households will know that a roast chicken in just 45 minutes is incredible.

Test 5: grilling

If you're starting to think that the Ninja Combi could actually replace your oven, you're right. Just wait until I tell you about the results of these grill tests.

You can see how my cauliflower cheese turned out in the image above. It developed a deliciously crispy top with beautifully golden speckles across the cheese. The process was seamless: I first used the steamer function to soften the cauliflower, then poured over the cheese sauce and switched to the grill setting. It only took four minutes to achieve a lovely golden finish, but after peering through the viewing window, I decided to add another two minutes for extra crispy peaks. When I finally plated it up, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.

For the grilled vegetable test, I chopped up peppers, carrots, and onions, placed them on the air fryer basket, and set the Combi to grill. It heated up almost instantly, so I popped the vegetables in and let it do its thing. Just six minutes later, I was greeted with perfectly charred peppers, crisped edges on the onions, and beautifully tender textures throughout. To call it a success would be an understatement – the Combi nailed it.

Test 6: baking

I've already mentioned that my fruit buns were a baking success, but I wanted to test a whole cake. I'm a keen baker, so I was eager to see whether the Ninja Combi could actually replace an oven for a variety of baking tasks.

First, I made a banana cake in a classic sandwich tin. I could have fitted two tins in, one on top of the other, but that would have required me to put one under the tray and I knew they wouldn't bake evenly.

My single banana cake was baked and ready to eat in just fifteen minutes. I was really impressed with the speed of the Combi and even more grateful for the timer. I put the cake tin in, set the time and temperature, and left the oven to its own devices. I could do work around the house without needing to worry about checking up on the oven, turning it off, and opening the door. The oven did all that for me.

Since those tests, I have made a lemon loaf cake, which took only 20 minutes at 320 degrees. Since I first tested it, I have also baked many chocolate cookies (which take only eight minutes) and multiple loaves of bread, which followed a similar story.

On top of the useful timer and pre-sets, the Ninja Combi takes less than a minute to get to the temperature. I think this is why I keep returning to the Combi, opting to use it instead of my main oven because it was quicker to get ready, speedy when cooking, and then easy to clean. I'm sure it worked wonders for my utilities too, since I was only heating one small space.

Test 7: toasting

If the Combi can toast a bagel, it covers the functions of almost all my countertop appliances (save for the coffee maker). I did a simple test, turning the Combi on to the toast setting and put my bagel underneath.

It did an impressive job. The top of my bagel was perfectly browned in just over two minutes, whilst the steamed side had stayed soft, but warm. Cutting into the bagel, I could see that it was still nice and doughy. Bagels can be tricky to get to the perfect texture but the Combi has it perfectly.

Cleaning, storage, and maintenance

Another reason I was reaching for the Combi so frequently was because it's just so easy to clean. All of the trays and air frying baskets are dishwasher safe, so I stacked them in my dishwasher drawer and set it running. Most of the mess that I made was contained within these, but the inside of the Combi was easy to reach into and wipe down when I wanted to do a deeper clean.

As I've mentioned, storage and size is probably the biggest factor that you'll need to consider before diving into a purchase. The Combi is big on the countertop, which is fine if you use it as often as your normal oven, but if you won't use it much, it might be a little tricky to store. You'll need big cupboards with high shelves to pack this away.

What do customer reviews say?

Most people had the same experiences as me: a quick heat-up, precision temperature control, and excellent results. I was surprised that people didn't mention the size, since I thought this would be a common criticism, but people seem to make it work on their countertops.

People praise it for its versatile functions, close to silent fans, and impressive taste and texture results. It's really as good as a larger oven, just shrunk down. I even joined this Ninja Combi community group on Facebook, which has twenty thousand users sharing recipes, pictures, and cooking tips. It's very inspiring!

It's difficult to find reasonable criticisms of the Ninja. Most three-star reviews on Amazon and Walmart are to do with third-party shipping rather than anything to do with the Combi. The only other complaint that I could see was cleaning. Whilst I found it easy to clean, lots of people didn't like having to wait to clean theirs. The hotplate stays warm for a while, so you need to wait for it to cool. It came up in multiple reviews, so it's obviously a concern, but you also can't clean a normal oven when it's hot, so this possibly shouldn't be made into a criticism of the Combi.

The only other word of warning that came from the reviews was that the Combi can get hot, especially on your countertop. If yours isn't a heatproof material, it's worth investing in some sort of trivet, like this heat-proof mat from Amazon.

How does it compare?

I've tested my fair share of the best toaster ovens and countertop ovens on the market, and the Combi is definitely one of the best.

Another good multicooker brand is Instant. They make some fantastic machines, namely the DuoCrisp which can match the Ninja Combi in air frying, rapid cooking, baking, simmering and non-toxic credentials (it is lined with stainless steel).

The Instant has some extra functions, such as pressure cooking and yogurt making. It is also more subtle on the counter, as it is smaller and easier to hide away in a cupboard. Whilst that might be the solution to your issues with the Combi, it's worth noting that the interior dimensions of the Instant Pot are a little less generous. I was able to roast vegetables and a chicken in the Combi, the process wouldn't work in the Instant Pot. Plus, I find the shape slightly more awkward for bakes.

Should you buy the Ninja Combi Multicooker?

If you need an energy-saving appliance to help you make speedy meals, roast dinners, toasted snacks, and help with all your baking extras, you're in good hands with the Ninja Combi. I'm always cooking in the kitchen, so this very quickly slotted in as my sidekick. I barely use my oven anymore. I don't quite know what I would do without it now.